1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical engine, and relates more particularly to an optical engine using light emitting diodes to emit light and a lightweight heat dissipation device to dissipate heat.
2. Description of the Related Art
Light emitting diodes (LED) have superior characteristics such as low power consumption, high-energy conversion efficiency, long lifespan, and lack of mercury pollution, making the light emitting diode a good candidate for the replacement of traditional illumination devices. For example, a combined high power LED street light needs only one quarter the amount of electricity that an incandescent lamp consumes, and has a lifespan 10 times as long. Such amazing energy-saving performance has attracted widespread attention, and many areas have plans to deploy LED street lights for replacement of traditional street lights.
In order to facilitate widespread application of LEDs, LED lamps that are convenient to use have to be developed. To this end, several LED lamps have been proposed. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0,291,201 A1 discloses a side emitting collimator. The side emitting collimator comprises an LED light source emitting light. An optical element reflects the emitting light laterally, and angled reflecting surfaces reflect the laterally reflected light forward to form parallel beams incident on an object, wherein one optical element is disposed with respect to one LED light source, and the LED light source is attached to a metal block for heat dissipation so as to dissipate heat from the LED.
Further, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0,217,192 A1 discloses an illuminating panel and an illuminating device. A light emitter includes a plurality of light emitting diodes. Reflectors are provided to reflect light from the light emitting diodes toward an illuminated body. A light emitter and reflectors are assembled on a base to form the illuminating panel.
In addition, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0,201,225 A1 discloses an LED device for wide beam generation. An optical lens is disposed on a plurality of light emitting diodes arrayed on a printed circuit board. The assembly module of the optical lens, the light emitting diodes and the printed circuit board are disposed on a substrate, which is capable of heat dissipation. A plastic cover is disposed on the assembly module to obtain an optical engine.